Search for survivors after Afghan earthquake kills 800

Rescuers desperately searched Tuesday for survivors successful the rubble of homes flattened by an earthquake that struck easternAfghanistan, sidesplitting much than 800 people.

The 6.0-magnitude earthquake, followed by astatine slightest 5 aftershocks, deed distant areas successful mountainous provinces adjacent the borderline withPakistanaround midnight Sunday.

The caput of the Kunar Provincial Disaster Management Authority, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told AFP that "operations continued passim the night".

He added that determination were "still injured radical near successful the distant villages" successful request of evacuation to hospitals.

Villagers joined the rescue efforts, utilizing their bare hands to wide debris of elemental mud and chromatic homes built into steep valleys.

The dead, immoderate of them children, were wrapped successful achromatic shrouds by villagers who prayed implicit their bodies earlier burying them.

Some of the hardest-hit villages stay inaccessible owed to blocked roads, the UN migration bureau told AFP.

The earthquake epicentre was astir 27 kilometres (17 miles) fromJalalabad, according to the USGS, which said it struck a shallow 8 kilometres beneath the Earth's surface.

After decades of conflict, Afghanistan is 1 of the poorest countries successful the world, facing a protracted humanitarian situation and the influx of millions of Afghans forced backmost to the state by neighbours Pakistan and Iran successful caller years.

Since theTalibanseized powerfulness successful 2021, overseas assistance to the state has been slashed, undermining the impoverished nation's already hamstrung quality to respond to disasters.

The United States was the largest assistance donor until aboriginal 2025, erstwhile each but a sliver of funds were cancelled aft PresidentDonald Trumptook office.

In June, the United Nations said it was drastically scaling backmost its globalhumanitarian aidplans owed to the "deepest backing cuts ever".

On Monday, the UN Secretary-GeneralAntonio Guterressaid successful a connection it was moving with authorities to "swiftly measure needs, supply exigency assistance and basal acceptable to mobilise further support", and announced an archetypal $5 million.

Shallow quakes origin much damage

Taliban authorities successful a provisional toll reported 800 dormant and 2,500 injured successful Kunar province, arsenic good arsenic 12 dormant and 255 injured successful Nangarhar.

Laghman state besides has dozens of injured, according to authorities spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.

Relatively shallow quakes tin origin much damage, particularly since the bulk of Afghans unrecorded successful low-rise, mud-brick homes susceptible to collapse.

Many surviving successful quake-hit villages were among the much than 4 cardinal Afghans who person returned to the state from Iran and Pakistan successful caller years.

"There is simply a batch of fearfulness and tension... Children and women were screaming. We had ne'er experienced thing similar this successful our lives," Ijaz Ulhaq Yaad, a subordinate of the cultivation section successful Nurgal told AFP connected Monday.

In a station shared by the Vatican,Pope Leo XIVsaid helium was "deeply saddened by the important nonaccomplishment of life" caused by the quake.

Afghanistan is often deed by earthquakes, particularly successful the Hindu Kush upland range, adjacent the junction of the Eurasia and India tectonic plates.

A 5.9-magnitude quake struck the eastbound state of Paktika successful June 2022, sidesplitting much than 1,000 radical and leaving tens of thousands homeless.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)

Originally published connected France24